Ball containment assembly

ABSTRACT

A ball containment assembly for keeping a ball dry when the ball is not in play includes a bag that may contain a ball. The bag is comprised of a fluid impermeable material to protect the ball from moisture. The bag comprises an inner layer that is bonded to an outer layer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The disclosure and prior art relates to containment devices and more particularly pertains to a new containment device for keeping a ball dry when the ball is not in play.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a bag that may contain a ball. The bag is comprised of a fluid impermeable material to protect the ball from moisture. The bag comprises an inner layer that is bonded to an outer layer.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ball containment assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a phantom in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 4 thereof, a new containment device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4, the ball containment assembly 10 generally comprises a bag 12 that may contain a ball 14. The bag 12 is comprised of a deformable material to protect the ball 14 from abrasion. The bag 12 has an outer wall 16 and the outer wall 16 is continuous such that the bag 12 forms a spheroid. The ball 14 may be a soccer ball, a basketball and any other spherical ball employed in a sport. In an alternative embodiment 17 as shown in FIG. 4, the bag 12 may be elongated such that the bag 12 has an ovoid shape for containing an American football.

The outer wall 16 has a cut 18 extending into an interior of the bag 12 to pass the ball 14 into the bag 12. The cut 18 has a first bounding edge 20 and a second bounding edge 22. Additionally, the outer wall 16 comprises an inner layer 24 that is bonded to an outer layer 26. The inner layer 24 abuts the ball 14 when the ball 14 is positioned in the bag 12. The inner layer 24 is comprised of a deformable material such as chamois or the like. The outer layer 26 is comprised of a fluid impermeable material such as plastic or the like. In this way the outer layer 26 protects the ball 14 from moisture.

A flap 28 is coupled to and extends away from the first bounding edge 20 of the cut 18. The flap 28 is coextensive with the first bounding edge 20 and the flap 28 has a first surface 30. A first mating member 32 is coupled to the bag 12. The first mating member 32 is aligned with the second bounding edge 22 of the cut 18 and the first mating member 32 is coextensive with the second bounding edge 22. A second mating member 34 is coupled the first surface 30 of the flap 28. The second mating member 34 engages the first mating member 32 to close the bag 12. Each of the first 32 and second 34 mating members may comprise complementary hook and loop fasteners or the like.

In use, the ball 14 is placed in the bag 12 when the ball 14 is not being used for game play. The flap 28 is laid across the cut 18 and the second mating member 34 engages the first mating member 32. The bag 12 protects the ball 14 from abrasion and from moisture when the ball 14 is in the bag 12. In this way the ball 14 is kept dry thereby facilitating the ball 14 to be ready for game play at any time.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements. 

1. A ball containment assembly being configured to protect a ball from weather during storage, said assembly comprising: a bag being configured to contain a ball, said bag being comprised of a fluid impermeable material wherein said bag is configured to protect the ball from moisture, said bag comprising an outer wall having an inner layer being bonded to an outer layer, said outer wall being continuous such that said bag forms a spheroid, said outer wall having a cut extending into an interior of said bag wherein said cut is configured to pass the ball into said bag, said cut having a first bounding edge and a second bounding edge; a flap being coupled to and extending away from said first bounding edge of said cut, said flap being coextensive with said first bounding edge, said flap having a first surface; a first mating member being coupled to said bag and exposed on said outer layer, said first mating member being aligned with said second bounding edge of said cut, said first mating member being coextensive with said second bounding edge; and a second mating member being coupled to said flap, said second mating member being positioned on said first surface of said flap, said second mating member engaging said first mating member to close said bag wherein said flap is positioned to extend flushly along said outer layer wherein said flap is configured to lay flatly relative to the ball positioned within said bag.
 2. (canceled)
 3. The assembly according to claim 1, further comprising said inner layer being configured to abut the ball when the ball is positioned in said bag, said inner layer being comprised of a deformable material.
 4. The assembly according to claim 3, wherein said outer layer is comprised of a fluid impermeable material wherein said outer layer is configured to protect the ball from moisture.
 5. (canceled)
 6. (canceled)
 7. (canceled)
 8. A ball containment assembly being configured to protect a ball from weather during storage, said assembly comprising: a bag being configured to contain a ball, said bag being comprised of a fluid impermeable material wherein said bag is configured to protect the ball from moisture, said bag having an outer wall, said outer wall being continuous such that said bag forms a spheroid, said outer wall having a cut extending into an interior of said bag wherein said cut is configured to pass the ball into said bag, said cut having a first bounding edge and a second bounding edge, said outer wall comprising an inner layer being bonded to an outer layer, said inner layer being configured to abut the ball when the ball is positioned in said bag, said inner layer being comprised of a deformable material, said outer layer being comprised of a fluid impermeable material wherein said outer layer is configured to protect the ball from moisture; a flap being coupled to and extending away from said first bounding edge of said cut, said flap being coextensive with said first bounding edge, said flap having a first surface; a first mating member being coupled to said bag and exposed on said outer layer of said outer wall, said first mating member being aligned with said second bounding edge of said cut, said first mating member being coextensive with said second bounding edge; and a second mating member being coupled to said flap, said second mating member being positioned on said first surface of said flap, said second mating member engaging said first mating member to close said bag wherein said flap is positioned to extend flushly along said outer layer wherein said flap is configured to lay flatly relative to the ball positioned within said bag. 